Justice League Review

Let’s face it, you probably couldn’t visit any corner of the internet this weekend without seeing some sort of backlash from Justice League, it’s been everywhere. Rumors swirling, who directed what scenes?, mandates from Warner Brothers, it’s was a rough opening weekend for the storied superhero team. Regardless, I still couldn’t wait to watch it on Sunday. This was the movie I’ve been waiting for since I was a kid starring in amazement at the animated shows, ITS THE JUSTICE LEAGUE. Was it worth the wait?

What I liked:

The Characters – I thought they were the highlight of the film. It’s a big task to introduce three new characters, a villain and progress the plot in a meaningful manner and I believe the film succeeded in this aspect. The banter between the characters, the building of relationships (Cyborg & Flash), and the leadership dynamic between Wonder Woman and Batman got me to buy into the team.

Fight Sequences – The choreography for the fight sequences were great, the Amazons fighting off Steppenwolf, the flashback fight for the fate of the world, & the final battle all felt massive while giving credibility to the threat the League faces and highlighting each heros abilities.

Emotion/Fallout – Justice League, in my opinion, brings Man of Steel and Batman V Superman full circle and closes out the Superman story arc Zack Snyder set out tell. Superman has finally become the “Big Blue Boy Scout” that everybody wanted from the beginning and while the portrayal did cause controversy, it allowed the character to develop throughout this story arc into the hero that embodies hope.

What I didn’t like:

The CGI – It wasn’t bad, let me start by saying that, but I don’t think the reshoots helped the final product. Justice League features a lot of CGI between its fight sequences, character make-ups, and set designs and while it doesn’t pull you out of the movie while watching, it does look rushed in spots.

Quippiness – The humor isn’t forced in the film, in fact some sequences are naturally funny and the characters do a great job selling it, however, Batman shouldn’t be quippy. The occasional one-liner is perfectly fine, but Bruce shouldn’t be the team’s comic relief and it was the only instance that the humor came off as forced to me.

Length – Yes, that Warner Brothers mandate affected the film negatively. By forcing the film to be under 2 hours in run time you are severely limiting a film that has to introduce new characters, a new threat, and bring back one of the most iconic characters in comics, luckily the film overcomes 2 out of 3 of these scenarios leaving Steppenwolf to be an underdeveloped, generic, world-conquer. An extra 15-20 minutes of run time could have fleshed out the villain to give him some credibility and give the audience more backstory of Apokolips and provide more hints of the larger threat, Darkseid.

So was it worth the wait? Simple answer, yes it was. Justice League was an enjoyable film from start to finish and while I did find faults along the way (what movie honestly doesn’t have any) it never detracted from or pulled me out of the story. Seeing this team come alive was a dream come true for me and the characters absolutely sold it with their chemistry and banter. I give Justice League a solid 7/10. Enjoy the movie!